NEIL GAIMAN
The “Coraline” author has a loyal audience and a website featuring short stories, book excerpts, drawings, pages from his notebooks and more.Twitter: 2 million (@neilhimself)Facebook:731,000 likesChoice tweet: “Drumk,” he wrote last weekend, followed later by: “Actually still drimk.”

STEPHEN KING
After joining Twitter in December, the master of suspense has already stirred ire with some posts about Christians and the Tea Party. He also posts about books, TV and New England sports teams.Twitter: 486,000 (@StephenKing)Facebook:4.2 million likesMost Stephen Kingy tweet: “Dolls turn malignant late at night. They stare at you with those glassy eyes. I won’t say they’re plotting, but I can’t say they’re not.”

Dolls turn malignant late at night. They stare at you with those glassy eyes. I won’t say they’re plotting, but I can’t say they’re not.

DAN BROWN
Feeds run by the thriller writer’s office are heavy on promotions for his books.Twitter: 123,000 (@AuthorDanBrown)Facebook:6.8 million likesSnapshot: Occasional glimpses into the author’s private life include a picture from cocktail hour on his deck, a posed snap from a World Series game and a shot from the Grand Canal in Venice.

JACKIE COLLINS
The English novelist posts everything from research questions (“Where is the most exciting place that you’ve ever made out?”) to a cooking video starring her “famous Italian meatballs.”Twitter: 119,000 (@jackiejcollins)Facebook:137,700 likesFan outreach: She recently posted the beginning of a new work, “The Bitches of Beverly Hills” with a graphic that asks readers to help her write the next chapter.

John Green

AP

JOHN GREEN
“The Fault in Our Stars” author built his audience with YouTube shows about science, history and literature. The best-selling books didn’t hurt, either.Twitter: 2.98 million (@realjohngreen)Facebook: 2.25 million likesYouTube: 2.27 million followers (vlogbrothers, with his younger brother, Hank)Newsflash: Green told his fans about a recent bout of viral meningitis in an Instagram shot from a hospital bed last week. He is now recuperating at home.

Joyce Carol Oates

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JOYCE CAROL OATES
The famously prolific author dives into current events, igniting a Twitter fight last year with a series of tweets about Islam and Egypt. She also posts about the art of writing, the human condition and cats.Twitter: 104,000 (@JoyceCarolOates)Feline citing: A “poem of the week” selected by her cat, Cherie: “It is the claw that pierces/ that most pleases.”

Cherie’s Pick– Poem-of-the-Week It is the claw that pierces that most pleases. — Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) July 7, 2014

James Patterson

REUTERS

JAMES PATTERSON
Lately, the 67-year-old writer of thrillers and novels for younger audiences has been using social media to push his work for teens and tweens.Twitter: 61,200 (@JP_Books)Facebook:3.95 million likesChoice post: “How could a movie called Sex Tape, with Cameron Diaz, be unwatchable?”

How could a movie called Sex Tape, with Cameron Diaz, be unwatchable? — James Patterson (@JP_Books) August 9, 2014

Margaret Atwood

Reuters

MARGARET ATWOOD
The Canadian novelist has been on Twitter since 2009, posting mostly observations about literature and politics.Twitter: 510,000 (@MargaretAtwood) F: 163,300 likesTwitter gripe: Writing as “a soon-to-be dead alum,” she threatened not to leave money to the University of Toronto after learning of its plans to install artificial turf on a sports field before the 2015 Pan Am Games.

J.K. ROWLING
The “Harry Potter” author has a slick website but isn’t that into social media. Since 2009, she has posted 90 tweets, while her Facebook page often talks about her in the third person.Twitter: 3.55 million (@jk_rowling)Facebook:3.55 million likesCheeky item: She posted a picture of a signature by her mystery writer pseudonym, Robert Galbraith: “It took Robert a whole weekend to perfect that signature. (I let him practice at my kitchen table.)”

JENNIFER WEINER
The creator of saucy heroines in books like “In Her Shoes” doesn’t hold back online, and her obsession with “The Bachelor” will live forever via her live tweets.Twitter: 95,600 (@jenniferweiner)Facebook:94,200 likesChoice tweet: “Just re-wrote my bio on my BlackBerry while getting my legs waxed. The medal’s in the mail, probably.”

Just re-wrote my bio on my BlackBerry while getting my legs waxed. The medal’s in the mail, probably.

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.